Kanetogin
by PlasmaMaster
Summary: Something went wrong when Ichika was kidnapped, and Chifuyu arrived too late to save him. Now he is home safe and sound, but he has changed. For better or for worse, his friends can only wait. *note* this is my first story, so go easy on me.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

Year 2034

Quiet sobs wracked the darkness, originating from a small figure. It lay on its side in a barren concrete room, directly across from an old wooden door. Rough rope was binding its wrists and had cloth covering its mouth, holding it unable to move or prepare in any way. It shivered. The cold room was much too uncomfortable for a young boy wearing naught but a school uniform.

The figure was Ichika Orimura, a slightly smaller than average ten year old. His black hair was virtually invisible in the darkness, but his ruby eyes glowed softly, unable to miss. Said eyes were currently brimming over with tears. Ichika had just been sitting down in his home, a modest house in the outskirts of Tokyo, to watch the second Mondo Grosso tournament. Chifuyu Orimura, Ichika's older sister and the reigning Brunhilde, was a favorite to win. Just as he touched the couch a resounding crack echoed from the kitchen. The last thing Ichika remembered was the feeling of cloth against his face and a cloying smell, pushing him over the brink into darkness.

No, Ichika thought determinedly. I have to escape. I can't allow myself to become even more of a burden to Chifuyu-nee. She's done enough already.

Steeling himself, Ichika did the one thing Chifuyu taught him to get out of most bindings. Grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, he prepared to forcibly dislocate his shoulder. Suddenly, loud footsteps resonated from the other side of the door. Ichika froze.

"Hey boy," a rough voice said in heavily accented Japanese. "You awake yet? Wouldn't want the boss mad at me. After all, she did tell us you were to be kept alive. Come on, we need to get you to the operating table."

With that the door set into the wall opposite Ichika burst open, blinding him with the sudden light. A giant man stood in the doorway, backlit by the light in the hallway. He strode forward, grabbing Ichika by the arm and yanking him to his feet. After his vision cleared, Ichika studies the man silently. He had a broad face, with his nose flattened as if he'd run full speed into a wall. His beady little eyes darted around restlessly, his tongue flicking out to wet his lips every so often. Disgustingly yellow and offset teeth poked out from his mouth, and he had a greasy and lanky black beard and hair.

Before Ichika could come up with a solid plan to escape from this man's grasp, he pulled him to a stop outside a set of double doors that looked like they had come from a hospital. He yanked Ichika's arm roughly, turning him around to face him. Ichika had to crane his head back just to be able to see the man's face.

"Okay, listen here," the man said gruffly. "You're gonna be a nice little patient for the doctor, you understand? After all, if she's happy, we're happy. Don't mess this up for us."

A cold wave of fear ran down Ichika's spine as the man spoke. 'The doctor?' he thought. 'What's going to happen to me?' The man shoved the doors open and quickly pushed Ichika into the room, closing them behind him. Ichika ran back to the doors and pounded on them, but they wouldn't open.

"Well, well," a cold voice said cruelly behind him. "What do we have here? Is it another subject for me to play with? Oh, goodie, I was just getting bored with the last one."

To Ichika's horror, he found himself turning around. A rather tall woman stood a few feet behind him, wearing a blue button up shirt and black pants under a white lab coat. Her black hair was bound back in a loose ponytail, and her clear green eyes were hiding behind thick glasses. The woman was smiling cruelly, almost as if she couldn't wait to start with whatever maniacal plans she had in store for Ichika. Ichika started struggling desperately with the bindings on his wrists, forgetting temporarily about his plan to dislocating his shoulder. The woman stalked forwards, and with the speed of a snake, lunged to Ichika, grabbing his shoulder and arm.

"Come on, don't be like that," she crooned, disgusting Ichika with how close she was. "It's been so long since I've had such a young and able test subject! Let's go have some fun!"

Without allowing Ichika to fight back the doctor yanked him on to a hospital bed, strapping him in with surprising strength. Ichika fought her every step of the way, but he couldn't do much with his wrists bound and mouth gagged. Once she had him immobilized, the doctor stepped back with her hand on her chin in the universal thinking pose.

"Now, now," she murmured, just loud enough for Ichika to hear. "What shall we do? There's the classic road of replacing parts, but that's too standard. We could take his memories and work for us, but again, clichéd. Oh, I know!" She hurried away from Ichika's bed and rustled around before coming back at a breakneck pace holding a large syringe filled with a yellowish liquid. "If these nanomachines raise a girl's compatibility with the IS, what could it do to a boy? Questions, so many questions. I guess there's only one way to solve this puzzle."

With a savage and sadistic smile, the woman wrenched Ichika's head to the side and held the needle to his neck. Ichika thrashed about, but the doctor's unnatural strength held him in place.

"This may hurt," she warned, and slammed the syringe into Ichika's jugular. Instantly, liquid fire ripped through Ichika's muscles and veins, causing him to unconsciously throw himself at his restraints. The leather straps actually stretched with the force of his movements.

While Ichika was trying to escape his living hell, a loud crack resonated through the air of the dark room. Bright sunlight flooded in through a hole in the roof, revealing a teenager in an IS suit holding a large piece of metal. She threw the scrap to the side and dropped in, only to see a flash of white going through the doors. The teenager looked around the room cautiously, and seeing no one, flung herself to the hospital bed, ripping off the gag in Ichika's mouth.

"Ichika-kun," she crooned. "Ichika-kun, how could I have let this happen to you? Why wasn't I there?" The boy cracked open his eyes, tired from the excruciating pain that had been coursing through him until only a few seconds earlier. The girl reared back, startled at the sight of the piercing golden eyes on her brothers face, where before they were a dark reddish brown.

"Chifuyu-nee," he croaked. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Don't cry." Chifuyu reached up and quickly wiped the tears from her face, embarrassed for her brother to see her in such a state.

"Come on," she whispered, cutting through the leather straps with her sword, the Yukihira, easily. "Let's get you home."

It was a full week before Chifuyu let Ichika go back to school, and even then it was only because she was in Germany. Unwilling to let him stay at home by himself, Chifuyu had persuaded the Gotanda family, the owners of a small restaurant and the parents of Ichika's only friend, to allow him to stay with them for the year she had to be away. She had promised the German military a year of her time to instruct one of their squads in exchange for the information leading to her finding and rescuing Ichika from the people who had kidnapped him. Dan, Ichika's friend, had been shocked to see Ichika's new eyes, but he accepted it in stride, saying it made him look like an action hero from an anime. Dan's little sister, Ran, had almost fainted at the sight of Ichika moving into his new room, and had to be carted away by her parents.

By the time Ichika actually got to school it was already lunch time, so he decided to just head over to where he knew Dan would be eating. Ichika himself wasn't hungry, but it would be nice to talk to his friend before he had to go to class. On the way there, he came across an unusual sight.

Just around the corner of a building, out of sight of the ever present teacher watching the students, three burly guys were standing around a small girl. By the looks of her, she was Chinese, with long brown hair tied into ponytails on either side of her head and large green eyes. Something about her made Ichika feel extremely protective, so he decided to try and get her out of the small circle.

"What on earth do you idiots think you're doing?" Ichika demanded, sauntering up confidently behind the guys. The biggest one spun around, making a small swell of fear rise in Ichika. It was the school bully, Keita Sachi. He was the meanest and most ruthless bully in the school, mercilessly picking on anybody who stood out in the slightest.

"What do you want, Orimura-san?" he sneered. "This doesn't concern you. We just need to teach this little Chinese brat a little lesson on how to respect her betters." Keita's thugs, almost as big and almost as mean as him, nodded dumbly, happy to go along with any of his plans. The three probably only shared a handful of brain cells between them, and none of them were particularly smart.

"Well you can knock it off, 'cause she's off limits," Ichika answered with loads more courage than he felt.

"Oh yeah?" the slightly bigger of the thugs growled. "Look at you? What could you possibly do to us?"

"This," Ichika growled back, and with a speed and accuracy he didn't know he had, slammed his fist into Keita's face. It hit his jaw with such brutal strength that the one hit knocked him out cold. Keita's thugs, like all other lackeys, ran off with their tail between their legs when they saw their leader was down. Ichika stepped on Keita's stomach without restraint and hopped over him. He stood in front of the girl who was trying to make herself invisible. With a start, Ichika realized that she only came up to his chest.

"Hey," he said gently. "Are you okay? Those guys can be real jerks, so it's okay if you were scared."

"I…I'm alright," the girl sniffled, wiping away the tears that had collected in the corner of her eyes. "Who are you?"

"Ichika Orimura," he replied, smiling, as he ruffled the top of her head. "What's your name?"

"Lingyin Huang," she said, looking up into Ichika's eyes. "I'm a new transfer student from China. Those guys didn't like where I was from."

"Lingyin-san, huh?" Ichika said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, that's kind of hard to say. How about Rin-chan? Easy to say, nice and casual."

"Y-y-you're giving me a ni-nickname?" Rin stuttered.

"Of course. We're friends, aren't we? Come one, let's go get something to eat. I'm a little hungry." Ichika extended his elbow to Rin, and after blushing cutely, she took it. They passed a teacher on their way to the cafeteria and told him about Keita. The teacher gave them a knowing look, noting the way Rin was wrapped around Ichika's arm and the way Ichika stood a half-step in front of her protectively.

After getting some bread and two cans of coffee, Ichika led Rin to the spot where he and Dan always ate their lunch. Dan noticed the new addition, but didn't say anything until the pair sat down.

"Hey, Dan-kun," Ichika said. "This is Lingyin Huang-san. Rin-chan, this is my friend Dan Gotanda-san. I met him when we were only five."

"So, what's the story here?" Dan asked impatiently, not being one for small talk. "Has my boy Ichika-kun here finally gotten a girlfriend?"

"Ichika-kun saved me from a group of bullies that were picking on me because I'm Chinese," Rin said affectionately. "I think I'd like to your friend. Could we be friends, Ichika-kun?"

Ichika laughed at the puppy dog eyes Rin was giving him. Having grown up around Ran, also known as the Master of Puppy Dog Eyes, he had gotten enough exposure to only be affected by them if he chose to. It helped in certain situations, like when Ran wanted something that Ichika didn't want to give to her, but he decided to allow it this time. After all, who gave him the right to toy with people's affections?

"Sure, Rin-chan," he said while smiling warmly and patting her head. "We can be friends." Rin glowed under Ichika's attention, rubbing her head up into his palm.

Dan, meanwhile, was smiling at Ichika's oblivious luck. Just by being himself, he could attract all kinds of girls, but one type more than the rest. The girls that felt like they needed protection, for whatever reason, were attracted to his friend more than any other. Rin was probably that type, judging on how they met. It also helped that Ichika would zealously guard whatever he deemed as his.

Ichika lifted his had away from Rin's head, much to her disappointment, and turned back to his food. He wolfed the bread down with surprising speed but forced himself to slow down with his drink.

'Must have been that fight, however one-sided it was,' he thought. 'I must have used more energy than I thought. Maybe it had something to do with what that woman did to me. What was it she said? Increase compatibility with the IS? Wonder what that means to me?'

Dan alternated his gaze between Rin and his golden eyed friend. 'Something must have happened in that week he was off. He's acting really strange.'

Rin was watching her saviour with an almost religious intent. His pure, golden eyes had caused her to go weak in the knees when he looked at her after knocking out Keita. He had looked at her with such a worried gaze just because she might have been hurt. That was the first time anyone had ever looked at her like that, and it felt really good. Almost like she was…worth something. Coming from a household where her two parents fought almost every waking moment, it was nice to be worth something.

After the slower two were finished eating, Ichika stood up and held his hand out for Rin to take. Ichika was looking away, but Dan didn't miss the way she blushed. He wordlessly shook his head. 'Ichika-sama, you lucky bastard. Teach me, oh wise one, the way to attract girls like you do. Please?'

After dumping their garbage in the nearest trash bin, the trio headed to class. It seemed that Rin had transferred into Ichika's class while he was away, leaving Dan to walk to his own room by himself. Ichika laughed at his retreating form, noting the way his head and shoulders were drooping with more and more with each step. Rin was still wrapped around his arm, so he escorted her into the room in the way a gentleman should, opening the door for her and leading her to her seat. Rin was happy to see that the desk in front of her, which had previously been empty, was actually supposed to be filled by Ichika.

Lessons for the day were quite boring. Even though Ichika had missed an entire week, they hadn't moved on much and were still on content that he recognized. The lesson actually seemed simpler to understand, but Ichika just credited that to the odd doctor's experiment. When they were finally let out for the day Rin immediately latched on to Ichika's arm again, making him sigh and shake his head.

Dan met them outside the classroom, having been let out earlier than they were. His class was filled with the loudest and roughest students in their grade, so it made sense that the teacher wanted to get rid of them sooner. Even the most patient adults had a breaking point, and both Dan and Ichika were surprised that this one had managed to keep a hold on her sanity for the entire year so far.

"Hey, you two," Dan called out as Ichika and Rin walked out of the doorway. "So, what's on the schedule for the night?"

Ichika looked down at Rin with a curious smile on his face. "I have no idea. Rin-chan, any suggestions?"

"I'm fine as long as I can stay near you," she said, then bushed immediately at her own comment. Ichika's grin widened, but he looked away out of respect. With his free hand he scratched the back of his head. It was a nervous habit of his whenever he got into an awkward situation, and Ichika being who he is, it happened a lot. Dan was honestly surprised at the fact that his skull wasn't showing through his thinning hair.

"Well, then," Dan said slowly, trying to break the tension. "How about we head back to the restaurant? We could get some food and play some games."

Ichika nodded. "Sounds good. I've been meaning to kick your ass again, and a game's a good way to do it. How about you, Rin?"

"Sounds like fun. I've never played a video game before."

After scraping their jaws off of the ground with a spatula, the boys gaped at the small girl. "Never…played…a…game?" Dan said incredulously.

Rin shrugged. "My family's never even owned a system. They said that I needed to work on my cooking and housework, as a good wife should, not spend my time on pointless games."

Ichika narrowed his eyes. "It seems like I'll have to teach your parents a thing or two about the true value of video games!" As he spoke he pushed his chest out and turned his head to the side. Any girls that were passing by were immediately caught up in his pure heroic aura and stopped what they were doing, their hands clasped over their hearts with their eyes wide. Even Rin was caught up in it, but being the closest to Ichika, she was affected the strongest. Only Dan stood normally, shaking his head and scowling.

"Ichika-kun," he warned. "You're doing it again. Stop it before Koichi-sensei finds you and decides to give you detention again."

Ichika quickly let off on the Hero Aura, as Ran dubbed it, and shuddered. The last time he had caught their math teacher up in it she had given him a…special incentive to stop doing it. Coming from a fifty year old woman, it was a damn good reason to stop.

It only took the trio ten minutes to walk to the Gotanda Eatery, and they went straight to Dan's room to fire up his Stratos-Blaster. It was a brand new console, and it had cost the full of both Ichika's and Dan's savings. As far as they were concerned, it was worth it. To Chifuyu and Dan's parents, not so much.

Rin somehow claimed Ichika's shoulder as her seat as she tried to figure out the rather complicated controller. Ichika didn't mind, seeing as how she was so small and he had always been rather strong, but a part of him wondered why a girl would even try to get so close to him. It was only a small part, though, and it was soon silenced as the rest of Ichika's mind beat it down and forced it to stop questioning and enjoy it.

Dan's mood got lower and lower as Rin, a girl who had never even picked up a controller before, soundly wiped the floor with him. Ichika did as well, but at that point it was kind of expected. They had been playing games together since they were both big enough to turn on the console, and Dan had only beaten Ichika twice. The first time was because Ichika's controller had died, and the second was a complete fluke. Ichika had shot at Dan and missed, and somehow the bullet had found a gas tank. The gas tank blew up, shattering into a million pieces, and one of them just so happened to hit Ichika, killing him instantly. Other than that, Ichika soundly beat Dan into the dirt over and over again.

Eventually Ran got home from her school, a private academy not too far from her home. She had been practicing with the tennis club, so she was still in the short skirt and tight blouse she played in.

"Hey, Dan-nii, I'm home," she called out. "And I'm kind of hungry. Could you make me a snack or somethi-"

As soon as she opened the door she froze. Ichika looked over and studied what she was wearing. "Ah, you were at tennis?" he asked. "Hold on, I'll make dinner. What do you want to eat?"

Ran blushed and blinked a few times. "A-a-anything's f-fine," she stammered. "I-I forgot you were here, Ichika-sama."

Ichika replied by smiling and picking Rin up off of his shoulder. She squeaked when his hand slid under her bottom to pick her up, but he was quickly forgotten as she returned to playing with Dan.

Ichika went to the kitchen, noticing absentmindedly that neither of Dan's parents were in. They often worked strange hours, so it wasn't really a surprise. Just as he started to fry the chicken for a stir fry, Ran showed up in the kitchen. She had changed into a white dress, and had her scarlet hair held away from her face with a white headband. She silently entered the kitchen and took a seat on one of the stools, content to watch Ichika as he worked. He didn't mind being watched. After all, Chifuyu could probably burn water if Ichika wasn't there to cook for her. She may have won the First Mondo Grosso, but anything other than fighting was a complete mystery to her. The best thing she could do while she was home was have a drink and a snack as Ichika took care of the housework.

"You're a really good cook," Ran commented as he added the sauce. "And the apron looks really good on you."

"Thanks," Ichika replied while grinning. "Chifuyu-nee couldn't cook to save her life, so she usually just leaves it to me. I guess having only take-out food is a good incentive to learn how to cook properly."

"Who taught you?"

"Ah, do you know Tabane Shinonono? The creator of the IS? She did. Apparently she had thought of an experiment involving cooking, and she needed my help for it. Oh, that reminds me." Ichika pushed his hand into his pocket and fished out his phone while trying to stir the food with only one hand. He quickly dialed a number and held it up to his ear.

The answer came after only one ring. "HI, hi, hidey-ho, it's Tabane Shinonono!" the girl on the other end sang in a sing-song voice.

"Hey Tabane-chan," Ichika said with an amused tone. "It's Ichika. Do you have a minute to talk? I wanted to ask you something."

"Ichi-nii! It's about time you called me! I heard you got kidnapped last week! What happened?" Tabane was actually the same age as Ichika, a fact that most people tried to forget. It was particularly hard for them to accept that a five year old had designed and created the world's most advanced weapon, something hundreds of years of war hadn't been able to reproduce.

"It's nothing, but if you have the time, I wanted to ask you something. If not, it's okay. It's not that important."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Tabane-chan," Ichika took a deep breath. He wasn't sure how Tabane would react to his request, but it had to be asked. After all, if he couldn't protect anybody by using the IS himself, he would at least be able to design their armour and abilities as best he could to protect them from the shadows. As much as he didn't want to ask for the fear of appearing like a fool, it had to be said.

"Tabane-chan," he repeated. "Please, I beg of you. Teach me about your IS."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

_Year 2039 Five Years Later_

_'__Why am I here?'_ Ichika thought as he steeled himself against the curious gazes of his strictly female classmates. _'I get that being the only male IS pilot in the world is an oddity, but do I really have to go to IS Academy? I probably know more about the IS than anyone here! Seriously, Chifuyu. I _will_ get you back for this.'_

Ichika's golden eyes flashed evilly as he imagined his getting his revenge against his older sister. His plans were mostly making her cook for herself or do her own laundry, but hey, it's a start. He was so caught up in his scheming that he almost missed the teacher calling his name.

"Orimura-kun? Ichika Orimura-kun?" she called. Ichika snapped back into reality and accidentally gave Yamada, as the board said behind her, the Orimura Glare. It was a special technique perfected by him and his sister, and it brought all but the strongest-willed to their knees. The fact the Yamada was still standing told Ichika that this clumsy looking woman wasn't to be underestimated.

"What?" he snapped. Yamada flinched as if his voice had a physical impact and tried to cower behind the lectern she was standing beside.

"Well, you see, we were just doing self-introductions, and we started at the "A"s and moved all the way down to the "O"s, and your last name starts with an "O", so I-"

"It's okay," Ichika said, holding up his hand to stop her rambling. "I'll introduce myself. Just calm down." Yamada took several deep breaths and tried to find the courage to stand again. Ichika stood and instantly regretted it. Apparently the girls in the class viewed him as a specimen to be studied.

"I am Ichika Orimura. As you all probably know, I am also the only currently know male pilot of the IS. Why that is, I don't know. I am also the current Representative-not Candidate, but full Representative-of both Japan and Italy. Don't ask me how, because I won't tell you. That is all."

Ichika went to sit down again, but suddenly time seemed to slow down. He instantly knew what was happening and raised his fist behind him to block the incoming missile. A loud crack echoed through the classroom, followed by to small thuds as the textbook fell to the ground, broken in half by the impact with Ichika' hand.

"That's not a really good way to greet your brother, Chifuyu-nee," he said, slowly turning around to come face-to-face with his sister. Chifuyu glared at him, making the expression 'if looks could kill' come to mind for all the girls who were watching. Ichika noticed one girl, long blonde hair and blue eyes, stare at him intensely. He didn't know why, but she almost looked angry.

"Your Personal I.S. is waiting for you in the armory," Chifuyu growled reluctantly. "Hurry up and go get it. The engineers are waiting for you."

Ichika gave a respectful yet somewhat mocking bow and spun on his heel. He strode out of the classroom without looking back, but he could feel the blazing heat of Chifuyu's glare.

It only took Ichika a few minutes to find the armory, having memorized the map a few days ago. The surprise, however, was finding Tabane bouncing around the room while the few engineers on staff cowered in a corner. As soon as the girl saw Ichika she leaped across the room and wrapped around him in a hug that would break the bones of an ordinary person. As Ichika and Tabane had discovered only a few weeks into his apprenticeship with her, he was anything but normal.

"Hey, Tabane-chan," he said, wrapping his arms around her despite the crushing force. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to see you, Ichi-nii!" she said as if it was perfectly obvious. "Why else would I come to such a boring place?"

Ichika smiled and patted the top of her purple hair. Tabane's sleepy seeming grin became even more so as she pushed her head against Ichika's palm.

"Is Houki-nee with you? I know she'd want to see Chifuyu-nee again after so long." Houki was Tabane's older sister and a true genius with a sword. She and Chifuyu had a long standing rivalry as they both practiced kendo and they were both undefeated. Even when they went against each other it always ended in a draw with both women dropping to the ground out of sheer exhaustion simultaneously.

Tanabe shook her head happily. "Nope, nope, nope," she sang. "But guess what! Guess what!"

"What is it, Tabane-chan? You know I've never been able to guess what was running through your head."

"I'm going to be in your class!" At her declaration, both Ichika and the group of engineers went stiff as a board, for different reasons. The engineers were worried that this demon girl would be anywhere near them for the next three years, and Ichika was starting to seriously question her sanity.

"Umm," he said slowly. "Tabane-chan? You created the I.S. Why would you be attending school here?"

"So I can spend more time with you!" she said happily. "Oh, yeah! Come on, let me introduce you to Shirayuki Shinigami!"

"Snow White Death God, huh?" Ichika muttered. "That seems kind of like we're bragging." Tabane ignored him and dragged him over to the I.S. standing nearby in its inactive form.

"Hop in, I just need to do the final adjustments." Ichika complied and pulled himself into the grey frame, using the small ladder located conveniently to do so. Normally the legs of the frame were too high to get in, so they were left kneeling by the last user.

As soon as the frame clamped in around his legs and arms, Tabane began furiously typing away on a holographic keyboard. Disconcerted by the feeling of metal shifting around his limbs, Ichika began looking around for things to distract him. The engineers were long gone, scared off by Tabane's eccentric personality. Frustrated, he called up the weapons list. One item waited for him; a two-handed bastard sword named Yukihira Niigata, or Second Snowflake.

Before he could ask Tabane about the weapon a huge flare of white light surrounded him. When it faded Ichika looked down at himself, stunned by what he saw. His entire body was covered with some kind of black metal that glowed in the light. It looked exactly like the old-fashioned armor that European knights used to where, but it had some sort of cowl pulled up over his head instead of a helm. A smooth black mask covered his entire face besides the eyes. His blazing gold eyes glowed unconditionally, to only spots of color that could pierce the darkness. As he examined his arm to try and figure out what the material was made of, a blue holographic screen appeared in front of him.

**Activate Kamino Zenryoku? **

**Y/N**

"Tabane-chan?" Ichika asked, looking over to the girl. "What's Kamino Zenryoku, and why does it want me to activate it?"

"Oh, Ichi-nii!" she cried. "That's the best part! You still practice your martial arts, right? The Shirayuki Shinigami has a special ability that makes it so your strikes have more force!" She summoned up a wall of steel out of the ground with a few more taps on her keyboard. "Here, try it out!"

Ichika shrugged and tapped the button with his black finger.

**As you wish, Master.**

Instantly, his limbs began to glow with the black light. Ichika flexed his hands, but nothing felt any different. Deciding to play along, he swung his fist as fast as he could at the steel.

Apparently, 'as fast as he could' changed somewhat. Ichika's hand moved so fast it blurred out of sight, even with his enhanced vision. When it connected, the steel didn't dent or shatter. It dissolved. The pure force of the attack vaporized all of the metal within a foot of his fist.

"Tabane-chan," Ichika growled dangerously. "What in all Kami's name was that? That can't be legal!"

"That was Divine Might, and it's perfectly legal," she answered innocently. "All it does is destroy any armour and skips straight through to the Absolute Barrier. It won't hurt the pilot, but it drains their shield points at a rate of fifty points a second. Speaking of which, check your shields."

Ichika followed her advice and looked down at his HUD. The meter where his shields were represented read 3600. Regular I.S. units held 600.

"Tabane-chan, this is too unfair!" Ichika shouted. "That's six times the shield points as other I.S.'s! What Core could possibly have this?" So far, the strongest Core in the world was Core 001, and it only gave the user a boost of a hundred shield points. Unless she used…

"The Trilogy," Tabane said, grinning broadly. Ichika felt his blood run cold. The Trilogy was a set of three Cores that acted as a unit, but it required a perfect match with the pilot in order to be used. It consisted of Cores 000-1, 000-2, and 000-3, the real first Cores ever made. Tabane had held them in secret since before the I.S. was ever made, and only she and Ichika knew about them. The three orbs had reacted strongly to his presence, but they weren't sure whether it had been a good reaction or a bad one.

"Relax, Ichi-nii," Tabane said, flapping her hand to calm him down. "I already tested to make sure that you matched them. All it needed was your willing consent."

"Be that as it may," Ichika said while he brought Tabane to her knees with an especially potent Orimura Glare, heightened by the sheer terrifying image of a living shadow he had come to be. "But next time you decide to do something like this, just remember what the punishment will be. I'll let you off this time, because no one got hurt, but be careful."

Tabane shuddered at the memory, and quickly pressed her forehead to the floor in submission. Chifuyu, Houki, and Tabane's parents all thought of Ichika as some sort of saint because he managed to find a way to calm Tabane down. After years of the older girls trying to control Tabane through smacking her upside the head, Ichika had found the answer. He had simply taken her into her bedroom and locked the door. They didn't re-emerge for three days, but not one sound had come through the door. After the three days had passed, Tabane had walked out under Ichika's strict supervision. She acted exactly as a proper lady should, and it had lasted for three years, until Ichika had to leave to go to America with Chifuyu.

Ichika rubbed his face vigorously. "It's fine, get up," he told Tabane. "I know you were only trying to help."

Ichika banished his I.S. in time to catch Tabane, who had flung herself at him in a flying hug. She buried her face in his chest, and when she finally pulled away she was quite a bit calmer than she was before. Ichika wordlessly took her hand and left the armory to go back to class, studying the three bands of pitch black metal that had appeared on his right forearm.

When Ichika opened the door he was instantly blasted by a wave of noise. "What's going on?" he asked the girl in the desk closest to him. She had a really sleepy expression, with her eyes half-closed.

"Orimura-sensei told us we had to pick a class representative," she said slowly. Ichika had to strain to hear her over the noise. Suddenly her eyes opened wide and she stood up quickly, almost knocking her chair over backwards. "I NOMINATE ORUIMURA-KUN!" she screamed, getting the entire class' attention.

***PAM***

The blonde girl that had been glaring at Ichika earlier slammed her hands down on her desk as she stood. "I cannot allow this!" she protested. "Do you expect me, Cecilia Alcott, to deal with the humiliation and shame of having a mere _boy_ be the rep for an entire year?!" As she yelled, her voice grew higher and higher, until she was one note away from being unable to be heard by all except dogs.

Ichika, who has way too high levels of pride for his own good, let go of Tabane's hand and poured all of his substantial speed into crossing the room. Cecilia almost hit the roof. When Ichika moved, he wasn't even a blur. One moment he wasn't there and the next he was.

"And what could you possibly offer, huh?" he growled in such a low tone the desks around him vibrated. "I don't see anything that could possibly make you a better representative than me. If anything, I'm more qualified than you could even _hope_ to be, _little girl_."

Ichika's words were so full of menace that it made Cecilia drop to her seat in sheer fear. Even so she continued to argue.

"How do we know that you are what you say you are?"

Ichika smiled cruelly, revelling in the stupidity of the girl in front of him. Tabane, behind him, leaned over to Chifuyu. "She must be really tired of living, huh?" Chifuyu smiled at her comment, but didn't say anything.

"Okay, how about this. Let's fight, and prove to everyone who the strongest is once and for all," Ichika offered calmly.

Cecilia nodded, thinking that she finally instilled some fear into the golden-eyed boy. "That shall be an acceptable compromise. I assume we are battling over the position?"

Ichika nodded his consent. He held his hand out, and in a flash of light, Yukihira, the bastard sword, was resting over his shoulder. The blade was easily twice as long as him, pitch black with two lines of gold running parallel up the spine. Despite its size, Ichika held it casually, as if it weighed no more than a feather.

"How much of a handicap do you want?" Ichika asked, completely seriously. With his little demonstration and his declaration of being the Representative for two countries, nobody laughed. Though most boys wouldn't have had the power to really make them want an advantage, they knew it would be best to have anything they could.

"How about only one weapon?" she said slowly. Ichika nodded and turned to Chifuyu, who was watching with barely concealed amusement.

"The match will be held now," he said. "In five minutes I will be flying into arena four. You are all welcome to watch."

With that Ichika banished his sword and strode calmly out of the room. Most of the girls were too relieved that he was gone to notice the small figure chase him out into the hallway. Ichika didn't miss her, though, and immediately jumped on to the wall above the door, bracing himself with the ceiling to avoid falling. The girl jumped into the hallway almost silently, swiftly closing the door behind her. As soon as she did she started looking around, confused as to where Ichika had gone so quickly. Ichika dropped down in front of her, scaring her half to death and causing her to jump backwards into the wall.

Ichika took a second to take a good look at the girl. She had golden blonde hair that went down to the small of her back, and it was tied back with a lavender ribbon. Her eyes were an amazing shade of purple. The skirt on her uniform was a bit too short, showing off miles of toned legs. She didn't even have stockings to cover them. Ichika's mind was almost reduced to a blubbering mess, because-not that he would admit it to anyone-legs were what he liked best on a girl. He didn't care about their other…_assets_…but if a girl had nice shapely legs they would have to watch out around him. This girl was the first he'd ever met with such perfect legs.

"Who are you?" Ichika asked curiously, wondering why she had followed him out of the class.

"I'm…ah…Charlotte," the girl said, still trying to recover from the scare. "Charlotte Dunois. I arrived to class late so I didn't get to tell you but I'll be your roommate for the next three years. Please take good care of me."

Ichika smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry," he said. "But I have a match to get to. Want to come with me?"

Charlotte smiled sincerely, almost sending Ichika to his knees. Never in his life had he seen a smile that beautiful. It made her look like an angel that had descended to earth.

"I'd like that," she said quietly. Ichika smiled and held out his hand for her to take before leading her through the maze-like halls of I.S. Academy to the hangar. It somehow didn't surprise Ichika that Tabane was already there, but she sure scared the crap out of Charlotte.

"Jumpy one, isn't she?" Tabane whispered to Ichika conspiratorially while she pretended to adjust a few things with Shinigami. Ichika smiled and nodded, then beckoned Charlotte to come closer. She had been standing in awe of Ichika's I.S., having never seen one that covered the pilot's entire body before.

"Yes, Orimura-san," she said quietly when she got close enough. What do you need?" Ichika waved his hand.

"Oh, do we need to be so formal with each other, Charlotte-san?" he said pleasantly. "After all, we will be roommates for the next three years."

Charlotte blushed for some reason, but she quickly nodded her head and smiled. "Of course, Ichika-san," she replied. "What was it that you needed?"

Ichika opened his mouth to answer but before he could get any words out a large blue holographic window appeared in the air in front of him.

**Activate HoloForm?**

**Y/N**

Ichika looked at Tabane, but she just shrugged. She didn't know what Shinigami was talking about either. Ichika held up one finger to Charlotte, asking her to wait, and tapped to screen.

**As you wish, Master.**

A bright flare of light surrounded the group, forcing Charlotte and Tabane to avert their eyes. They heard the sound of feet hitting the metal floor before the light faded. When they looked back they saw Ichika with his arms around a small girl, looking to be about sixteen years old. She had hair as black as coal and liquid silver eyes. She was wearing a flowing black sundress.

"Ich-Ich-Ichika-san?!" Charlotte stammered. Tabane would have, but she was still trying to scrape her jaw of off the ground. "W-who is this girl?!"

Without allowing Ichika to answer, the girl turned her face to Charlotte. "My name is Shira," she said in a voice that sounded like a breath of wind. "Though, your kind usually calls me Shirayuki Shinigami. Before I was named that, however, Mother called me Trilogy."

"Who's your mother?" Ichika asked curiously, dreading the answer. Shira merely pointed at Tabane.

"M-me?" Tabane asked, clearly freaking out. "How am I your mother? I'm barely old enough to have my-wait a second. Did you say Trilogy?" Shira nodded. "Why haven't you talked to me before?"

"Master wasn't here," Shira answered simply. Ichika smiled at the offhand compliment, but quickly realized something.

"Um, Shira-chan?" he said slowly. "Not that I don't find your company amusing, but I do have a match in, let's see, a minute and a half. Is it possible to go back to being armor?"

Shira looked up at him and laughed. "Of course it is," she said, and pulled his head down. Their lips met in a brief kiss, making the girls' jaws drop again, before Ichika was surrounded by another bright light. This time it faded to reveal him in his armour again, with an expression of equal confusion to Charlotte's and Tabane's.

"That was...strange," he offered, rubbing the back of his head with a shadowed hand. "I didn't know I.S.'s could do that."

"Neither could I!" Tabane shrieked, making Charlotte jump again. "She dares hide that from me! I ought to unplug her!"

Ichika glanced at the clock again, seeing that he only had about forty-five seconds to get into the air. "Sorry, guys," he said. "We can talk about this later, but I have to get out into the arena." As soon as he finished talking he activated that platform he was standing on, sending him at high speeds to get launched out of the open bay doors of the hangar. Ichika activated his thrusters once the platform stopped. The combination of the two sent him flying into the air at a high velocity. He slowed enough to stop only about five meters away from Cecilia, who was flying in her Personal I.S., Blue Tears. Ichika appeared to be standing on the air as opposed to flying like Cecilia was.

Blue Tears was, as the name suggested, pure blue. It had three sets of spiked wings floating behind it, giving it a rather regal look. The largest of the wings were normal, while the smallest seemed to be made of two sets of v-shaped pieces of metal. The set that were middle-sized hovered behind her hips, and had two long cylinders coming out of them. Plate armor covered her torso and limbs, with a sort of metal tiara resting atop her head. Cecilia was holding an enormous sniper rifle in her hands, which was also blue.

_'__Shira-chan, can you scan for any weapons she has?'_ Ichika asked in his mind, wondering if his I.S. would be able to hear him.

**Of course, Master,** she said in his head. A small progress bar appeared in front of Ichika's left eye, and it filled quickly. **The rifle she is holding is called the 'Starlight Mark III'. It is a new beam rifle that has the same energy output as Tabane-san's security system. Mounted on her lowest set of wings are two rocket launchers, and the highest and smallest are her 'BT' systems. They can detach from the body of the I.S. and operate as sentries, but research suggests that the pilot can't do anything else while using them.**

_'__Research? Shira-chan, are you able to look at files?'_ That was news to Ichika. He hadn't know that I.S.'s could connect to the internet, especially one designed more for combat that anything else.

**Yes, Master. I can also pull up the personal files of your opponent, if you wish.** Instantly, a host of holographic screens popped up in front of Ichika, and he scanned them all quickly. Apparently her father and mother had died only last year. That might explain her personality, but still, she could've found another way to deal than lashing out at the people around her.

_'__So her father was kind of worthless, huh? Maybe that's why she seems to hate me so much.'_ Ichika's whole view of the girl before him slowly changed as he continued reading her file.

"Hey!" Cecilia shouted at him through a comm-link. Ichika winced and willed the little box that was transmitting her voice farther away from his ear. "Are we going to fight or are you just going to keep stalling?"

Ichika smiled sadistically as he flew a little bit higher, putting him in the position of dominance. "Of course. Shall we start now?" Cecilia nodded, so Ichika sent a signal to Chifuyu, who was standing with Yamada in the viewing box. A countdown appeared, floating high above their heads.

_...10…_

"I'm feeling lenient today, Alcott-san," Ichika said calmly through the link. "So I'm going to give you a bit of leeway."

_…__9…_

"Oh, yeah?" Cecilia scoffed. "And what could that possibly be. We both know I'm going to win!"

_…__8…_

"Once the match starts, I'm not going to attack. If you can hit me in the first five minutes, I'll drop out and leave you the position. If not, I'll win."

_…__7…_

"I will _never_ back down and simply give you the victory!" The vehemence in her tone almost surprised Ichika.

_…__6…_

Ichika roared with laughter hard enough to be heard in the stands without projecting his voice. "Did I _ever_ say I was going to back down?" he said once he had enough control over his voice.

_…__5…_

"What? But you said-"

_…__4…_

"I said I'll win. I'm going to force you into the dirt and make you swear your subservience to me, and I'm going to do it in less than a minute."

_…__3…_

Cecilia didn't reply, only hefting her rifle in position and steeling her features. Thanks to the I.S.'s Hyper Sensors and the 'experiment', Ichika could tell that she was aimed precisely between his eyes.

_…__2…_

_ …__1…_

A cannon shot sounded, alerting everyone that the match had started. Cecilia sprung into action immediately, firing off a burst of energy that no normal person would be able to avoid, but again, Ichika wasn't normal. With a serene smile, he simply tilted his head to the side. The shot blew past him, only a half an inch away from activating his Absolute Barrier. The 'fight' continued like that for a minute and a half, with Cecilia flying around Ichika, trying to find his blind spot. The smile didn't leave his face, even as he evaded the shots using only the minimal amount of movement necessary.

"Aaargh!" Cecilia shouted irritably. "Move! Why aren't you fighting back?!" She seemed to be starting to allow her anger to cloud her skill, as her shots were becoming more and more inaccurate, to the point where Ichika only needed to dodge one in five blasts.

"I already told you," Ichika replied serenely. "You have about four more minutes to hit me, by the way." As he spoke the calm and soothing aura that was fluctuating around him grew stronger, and the female students watching him began to feel drowsy. Cecilia felt it too, but she reacted by growing even angrier and attacking him with a reckless abandon.

At the three minute mark Cecilia stopped in the air. She looked at Ichika with undisguised hatred as the top and smallest set of wings broke apart and began to float through the air. The BT's soared gracefully to surround Ichika, who only watched calmly.

"Now you will see the majesty of Cecilia Alcott and Blue Tears!" Cecilia shouted. Ichika felt, rather than saw, the BT's begin to gather energy. In one single instant, they released the energy. Ichika's I.S. performed the same trick as he had in the classroom, disappearing and reappearing a few feet away. They flew after him and fired almost at random, resulting in an odd game of cat and mouse.

"Ten seconds!" Ichika said quietly. Cecilia scowled fiercely and redoubled her efforts, sending two missiles out of the wings at her hips. Ichika calmly faced them and held out his hand. A tremendous shrieking sound came from his hand, and both missiles split in two and flew past him, exploding belatedly. An enormous two handed sword rested in Ichika's outstretched hand.

The sword was beautiful, Cecilia realized. It was completely black, the same as his I.S., but it had two lines of gold running parallel up the blade. The hilt was wrapped with golden wire, and the cross-guard was straight and solid.

"Game over," Ichika said, as the calm aura exploded into a paralyzing and hatred filled storm. A look of pure and undisguised fury settled over Ichika's handsome features. In a blur of motion, he disappeared.

Ichika is a very rare person in this world. Everybody has their own energy, just like they have the color of their hair or their personality, but the energy only comes in two variants. Yin, or the serene and calculating energy, and Yang, the angry and explosive energy. Ichika is rare in being that he has control over both energies and can switch between them at any time.

Cecilia looked around wildly, trying to locate her opponent. She heard a fearsome roar, then suddenly a blazing pain shot through her back. Ichika stood unmoving in the air, the amber lines on his sword glowing as he watched Cecilia hurtle down the hundred and fifty to the ground as her own personal comet. He floated gracefully down to the ground where she lay waiting in her own crater. When he got into reach Ichika lifted the blade and rested the point against her throat.

**"****Never challenge me again,"** he said in a voice that was laced with the explosive aura. **"Or next time I won't be so gentle."**

As Ichika deactivated his I.S. and walked away, his storm of Yang energy fading back into the ocean of Yin, only one thought was running through the minds of every female watching, including Cecilia and Chifuyu.

_That was gentle?!_


End file.
